Mixed Media Evolution

Delivered this commissioned piece to my client last week, so I thought I'd share a little of the process of creating it.

When I do custom Mixed Media I spend some time thinking about what the client has requested, the things they would like included, or photos they have provided.  This comes from the conversations I have with them, where I'm gathering information, getting a feel for what aspects of previous works I've done that they were drawn to.  Priority for me is to find out what drew them to my art to begin with, because if it's just one piece that they like then trying to create a custom piece for them may not work. They have to like my style overall for me to be willing to take on a project.  The other thing I'm watching out for, is if their 'vision' of what they want is so detailed and full blown that in truth it's their artistic vision they are wanting and not what I could do for them.

After I've thought of a basic design layout, I begin to gather some collage elements and lay them out on the canvas to get a feel for size and scale.  Typing up text elements, finding the right font for the look I'm going for, printing out various sizes, getting just the right images, in the right scale, figuring out embellishments and accent or focal points all takes time and a lot of reprints!

Then the work on the piece begins and this is where I find intuition and just following my gut kicks into high gear. I may reach for one thing to texture with and find myself selecting a completely different one. I don't question this.

Colour is often my biggest challenge.  Of course I've discussed this with the client probably gotten pictures of their wall colours and the room the painting is intended for so I have some idea of where I'm going.  I use my Art Journal to play with my intended colour selections to see how they mingle and blend with one another.  Then once again as I begin to layer in the washes of painting it's all intuitive from there.

Once the final layers of paint are down and dried then comes the finessing of various accents. Often a clear drying crackle is applied in various places, when this has dried then layers of both paint and inks are applied to get the effect I want for that particular piece.

 Other embellishments, from rusted lace, cheese cloth or other fabric might be added along with as in this case the door plate and keys.  I may go through a lot of different options before making that final selection and getting them glued down and secured into place.  Lately I've been including the paintings 'story' to give to my client.  I can't tell you how many times clients who have bought mixed media pieces will contact me later, wanting to know why I used certain things, what were my thoughts or their significance.

'Open Hearts' is among my favourite pieces I've done to date and I'm pleased to say the client loved it as well, story and all!

        "When intuition stops moving, there is always a controlling thought behind it." M. Cassou

Small Works Group Exhibit & Sale!

I'm so pleased to be a part of this Small Works Group Exhibition and Art Sale. Another one of those firsts for me.  There will be an opening reception on Nov 8th (7-9pm) at the Gallery and along with meeting potential clients, I'm excited to have the opportunity to meet a number of the talented artist living in my area.  I feel a little like a kid in a candy store at the idea!

Start With Easy

My camera skills have been maxed out this week, trying to photograph the piece that we covered in resin, twice!  In truth the resin is easy to work with, but my textured paintings aren't!  Jean (my husband) and I did two coats on this trying to get a smooth finish over a few high peaks, we didn't quite succeed but it's not bad for a first try.  I realize I should have taken my brayer and flattened out a few higher ridges so that the resin would have covered better as it settled.  As for photographing it, well my little point and shoot and the massive windows in my loft made that impossible, most the time I either had windows reflecting in my painting or me!  Not a good thing, made me laugh though and I always appreciate a good laugh.  I did manage to paint a small 12x12" shown in the picture, and I finished out a larger commissioned piece which I will share once I've delivered it, I'm very happy with how it turned out.

My loft display wall is looking a little sparse, I've been preparing and packing up paintings for delivery next week for the upcoming Small Works Group Art Sale at Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery.  It's nice to see those sparse walls and know that my work is out there gaining some exposure.  My larger works are decorating Klub Soda in Fredericton, more exposure and hey one sold this week!  So grateful for the opportunities that have come my way and for each person who chooses to purchase some of my art.

Continuing to be inspired by reading Michell Cassou's, "Life, Paint & Passion."  She will say things like, "Why do we make our work so dramatically important?" Why indeed!  Then she will go on to explain that when we over identify with a particular piece we get into the way of the process and usually wind up frustrated and or derailed.

"To keep your process flowing, to feel the enjoyment of creation, you first need to go where it is easy. Easy means ripe. Go where you are attracted, whether it be towards a detail or a large shape. While you work on the part that is easy, other parts will mature in you and they will be ready and waiting..."

So keep it loose and easy!  We'll try Michell, we will try...

Honest Brushstrokes

In the preliminary stages of tumbling around ideas, gathering elements for use in a new piece and thinking about colour. Not hard to do, think about colour when outside my loft the sun is dancing across the golden rusts of fall.  

Been reading another of Michele Cassou's books in the evenings, "Life, Paint and Passion."  I think the thing I love about Cassous writing/philosophy is that it's all about the process rather than the resulting product.  How liberating is that, to be free of concern for how nicely a piece turns out!  There in lies the great mystery of creativity. As you delve into the process it becomes the conduit of all that raw emotion, often resulting in works that vibrate with life.  The more you paint the freer you become!

Makes me wonder about other areas of life. If I worry less about outcome and more about what the process  has to offer maybe there would be less anxiety, less need to control or predict outcomes, greater freedom just to enjoy the now moments and the people in them. I suspect it may already be at work without me fully realizing it.  All I know is, it smooths everything out as I begin to paint!

Been putting together a variety of pieces for the Small Works Group Exhibition & Art Sale, being hosted by the Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery Nov 8th-Dec 20th.  I'm pleased to be a part of this exhibition, another first for me!

"Beauty is in the honest brushstroke that manifests without choice. It thrives on life. To create is to recognize that real beauty is found only in following your truth..." M. Cassou

New Things

It's been an interesting week. Shipped out some art this week, which always feels good, and got some orders for a few more commissioned pieces.

And I also made my first on line sale with my new website using PayPal. Thank you Joni for your patience!

For me these are mile stones, things I never would have dreamed I'd be doing three years ago and I'm stilled awed it all.

"The mind is full of expectations, beliefs and desires." M. Cassou

I can honestly say though, never in my wildest dreams did I dream this for myself. I think my Creator dreamt this one for me and I am abundantly thankful!  Speaking of which it was our Thanksgiving this past weekend and it was a beautiful one. Enjoyed my family a big turkey and new memories being made.

"When intuition stops moving, there is always a controlling thought behind it." M. Cassou

New Website Launched!

Well, it's been wild and wooly getting my new website up! Brenda Thebeau Abstracts is up and running, just click on the button on my toolbar to the left.

The course I've been taking with Leslie Saeta, has been very helpful, there's a lot to learn.  WebInArts is just what I needed to discover what some of my next steps should be.  Old hat to many of you, but what a learning curve for me!

Working on some smaller pieces this week which I really enjoyed, not sure that these will be the final embellishments that I'll use but I like how this little version of "Ignited" turned out.

Do you know if you had told me that my life would be altered so much when I began painting I never would have believed you!  The artistic process is an amazing thing that brings with it inner transformations that, well, you just might not come up with in your wildest dreams.  I know I sure didn't!

Here's a nugget from Life, Paint & Passion by M. Cassou

"To discover that you can paint without special talent is a great revelation. An endless stream runs through you, enough to paint for lifetimes.  Talent is universal. You can dip into that source to your heart's content.  Everyone is good at what comes to them spontaneously."

Web Course & Stuff

Well, the last of the art fairs for the season are behind me, it's been a learning experience and I'm looking forward to doing the rounds next year.  Though I hope to be better prepared and maybe get a lead on some new ones to add to the line up.

Had to spend some time this week creating a place to display medium to small pieces in the loft. Didn't have the floor space to keep stacking them so I used the lattice work frame to hang them on. I'm not looking to create pretty, just a practical way to store and now display some canvasses.

Have a few commissioned pieces to work on so I got started on them, feels good to be able to take the kind of time I want to develop them. I'm also working on developing a website and creating a base to be able to sell my art on-line, yeah a step forward!  As a 'Christmas gift' from my hubby, I'm taking the WebInArts course on-line, that's going to keep me busy this fall I can tell you! Leslie brings a lot to the table, with her extensive marketing background and successful art career, helpful stuff.

The weekends coming and so is my sister Kel!  Can't wait, hanging out at the farm with my family and it's fall, nothing like it!

"The appearance of boredom and tiredness is a sign that you are not listening to your intuition." Michele Cassou

Triumphant

Finally finished the 36 x 48" abstract. A bite at a time!  I like how it turned out, but of course there's always something you wish you had done a little differently :-)  I called it 'Triumphant' because that's how I felt when I finished this one, it's a largest single canvas piece I've done to date and a little challenging to work on.  There's also something about the design that just feels exuberant and well, triumphant, we could all use more of that feeling these days I expect.

Finishing up a few smaller mixed media pieces and packing up for the last art fair of the season this Saturday. Buttermilk Creek Market/Art Fair will be hosted at the North Carleton Civic Centre, Florenceville, Sept 22nd for those who are in the area, sounds like a fun time aside from the market/art fair I'm participating in. Love to see you there!

"Judgments point out to you where you are closing the door to your creativity." Michele Cassou

Let's keep those doors open wide!

Heart's Music

This is a custom piece I made for a young couple who just got married, I filled it with elements that would speak to their heart, it's called, Heart's Music.  It has its own story to tell, beginning with the phrase that came to me as I thought about this young couple. 'Love is the music of the heart.' 'Love is the heart's music.'

The abstract impression of a tree, the might oak, running up the side of the canvas branching out blending with the various symbols I chose.

The Celtic Knot (framing the Cross) is symbolic of the Oak tree's root system and is meant to remind us that beneath our surface we have divine inner resources to hold us steady and give us wisdom and strength through out life.  The Celtic Trinity Symbol (top left) represents Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also represents, Past, Present and Future.  Who we are today, the relationships we build are the sum of those elements.

The compass conveys that 'Love should always be our 'True North' I wrote the phrases, "Love is the music of the heart and Love is the heart's music" repeatedly and wove it into the band going across the canvass along with music notes, painted, crackled and flooded with copper gold ink.  I love how it turned out!

Tumbling from the branches are clocks to serve as a reminder that time is fleeting and to savour the moments and the date of this young couples wedding floating across the canvass.

Along the bottom I used the words taken from 1 Corinthians 13:7 and typed them repeatedly representing the root system of the oak tree.  "Love, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails."

Like I said, this piece has a story to tell :-)

I managed to overcome the recent speed bump that had me slowed to a crawl and got the first layer of paint down on that big canvas. Now to figure out what comes next!

Speed Bumps

Hitting speed bumps, progress is slow.  You never know when you're going to encounter them or what form they will take, but the results are the same, everything comes to a crawl.

I keep showing up and work away, but progress is painful. Not sure why, there's nothing I can put my finger on. Speed bumps.

Delivered a custom piece for a young couple that I will post about next time. The big canvas is ready for paint, I think and I have two smaller pieces collaged and textured, ready for paint.  That seems to be where the speed bumps show up, paint choices.  In an effort to move away from my favourite colour palettes, I just may be the one throwing up those darn speed bumps.  I'm thinking I need to listen to the wisdom of Michele Cassou, Point Zero

"Doing something more than once is often thought of as being uninventive and uninspired.  It attracts the Dragon of Control, which loves to struggle with it."

Darn, sounds awfully familiar, in fact I can hear the cement mixing that creates those speed bumps!

"There are two kinds of repeats, a controlled repeat and a spontaneous repeat. The spontaneous repeat happens when a deep feeling is met and needs to be explored; intuition, then, brings the images back again and again. The full expression of certain feelings can happen only through repetitions.  Repeats signal substance rather than dullness."

I guess there may be a reason I'm drawn to my earthy, rich tones over and over.  Maybe it's not boring as I fear it might be to others.

"Dragons try to discourage painters from gong further by making them think they are wasting their time."

I do believe I hear the sound of a sledge hammer breaking up some of those darn speed bumps!

"Durning repeats, the painter is actually exploring some new inner ground, some place out of the way, some secret area difficult to reach."

Here's to overcoming those speed bumps whatever their source!